Odisha seeks national varsity tag for BPNSI

The Odisha government on Monday urged Union Steel secretary Rakesh Singh to upgrade the Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute (BPNSI) at Puri to a national university for research in the steel scetor in view of the country targeting a steel production of 300 MTPA by 2025-26.

“We had submitted a proposal to the Centre for upgrading BPNSI into an university long back. Today, we have again urged the Steel secretary to help the state to upgrade it,” said chief secretary G C Pati here.

BPNSI, set up as an autonomous institute set up in Puri by the Ministry of Steel way back in 2002, is currently functioning from rented premises. The institute offers a diploma course even though its objective was to adopt a three-pronged approach to boost the steel sector: education and training, research and development, and consultancy.

A state government official said the institute is in a bad state and presently has a faculty strength of only three.